I am reloading for a 30.06 with a 20" barrel. What would be some good powders. I have tried IMR 4350 and IMR 4064. The IMR 4064 is really working well. The IMR4350 is not. Any other suggestions with an 06 with a 20" tube?
...............You load for your 20" barreled `06 the same way as if it had a 24" barrel or a 26" er. If your rifle with its 20" tube doesn`t care for IMR 4350, it wouldn`t like IMR 4350 even if you had a longer barrel. Aside from more noise, the only thing shorter barrels do is reduce overall velocities by very small percentages.
Contrary to Tupolev`s opinion above, your 20" barreled `06 imo, makes for a powerful rifle packaged in a shorter and handier OAL. And because of its shorter length, it is also a nicer carry around rifle. Imo, that is a match "NOT" too far from heaven.
If some are of the opinion that the 30-06 has too much powder capacity for a 20" barrel, then I`m in real big trouble then, because my 375 Ruger Alaskan has a 20" barrel. For accuracy, performance, handiness, carry around etc, that 375 combo is very close to the pearly gates. I also happen to load for my shorty 16.5" barreled 300 WSM Frontier carbine exactly the same way as if it had a 24" or 26" barrel. I consider a 35.5" long rifle which can equal 24" to 26" tubed 30-06 AI ballistics, very efficient and extremely powerful for its handy and smaller size.
Some like to carry around, shoot and hunt with shorter and very powerful rifles chambered in rounds that have greater powder capacities. As long as one wears good hearing protection at all times, rifles with the shorter barrels are wonderful in the field.
Your `06 is just fine as is. To determine what your rifle prefers, just keep on experimenting with a variety of powders and you`ll be fine.
